Are you flummoxed by the flashing, freaky lights?
You know those weird flasher lights on South Bayshore Drive in front of The Fresh Market? They are very confusing. What is one to do when they flash? I am assuming the drivers should come to a complete stop. In most cases, when the cars do stop, the person(s) who pushed the flasher don't even move. They stand there on the side of the road enthralled by the fireworks that go off.Drivers are completely taken off guard also. Some come to a screeching halt, others keep on driving, some slow down. When the button is pushed, all hell breaks loose with the lights flashing and freaking out and in turn the pedestrians and drivers start to freak out. Who invented this thing?
One reader commented on another post with this: "yesterday crossing the street in front of Fresh Market (by foot) my wife and I were nearly killed when crossing with caution lights blazing. Someone in the near lane stopped (extremely rare!). So we start across but our view was blocked on the second (inside) lane and some guy in an old car came at us at least 50 MPH. We jumped back. He waved and smiled!"
How about we get rid of these stupid things and just put in a normal crosswalk light? You know, one that turns yellow, then red and actually alerts drivers and walkers on what is going on. I try to obey the laws, but am totally confused and startled when this current device goes off. I am afraid to just come to a complete and quick stop because I know the car behind me will just keep on coming and end up hitting me, so I continue, which is the wrong and rude thing to do, but the proper thing if you don't want an accident to happen.
posted by Tom Falco at 8:00 AM
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12 Comments:
As an avid runner I love those lights. There is a line before them which specifically says drivers are to yield when there is someone in the crosswalk. I still look both ways before I cross because many people ignore it. Although there are a fair number of people who do in fact stop and let you cross. More then anything I think they get distracted drivers attention in an area with a lot of foot traffic. I wish they would add another one to bayshore and mary.
I agree that these lights are confusing. But it's better than nothing. The Fresh Market is always full of people, and many of us walk to it daily from all over the Grove. I never use those lights, just croos the Street whenever and wherever there are no cars coming, but there are elderly people who need them. They seem to be Solar-Powered which is kind of cool..
Wow, that must be some eyesight to be able to not only see someone inside a car wave at 50mph but to also see the smile on their face! Something tells me this may have been grossly exaggerated. If you come to a stop, the car behind you will not hit you unless you all of a sudden slam on your brakes and skid. Thats a poor excuse, Mr. Grapevine...
I have to agree with Grape here because unlike normal traffic lights this one gives you no warning and it scares the hell out of you when it starts flashing without warning and cars do come to a screetching stop and one day there will be a major accident.
My experience was startling. Fred and I always walk into the Grove and to Fresh Market. We cross when no traffic comes however when traffic is continuous it becomes a problem. I push for the lights and wait for the cars to slow or stop before entering the street. Unfortunately at 80 Fred cannot cross as quickly. I watched as one woman with plenty of warning totally disregarded the flashers. We were not the only pedestrians crossing. How can you not see 4 people and a baby carriage. Wish I had been speedier with my camera and get the license plate, she was that close to me
she was blond shoulder length hair and talking on her cell. The car was new and blue.
First time I saw those lights I thought something really bad is happening, but then after my heart rate came back down, I realized it is the new tactic to get drivers to stop for pedestrians at the cross walk. In a city where people drive worse than taxi drivers what do you expect?
Its a typical Miami automobile driver issue....yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk? why? just like Cyclist belong on the sidewalk. The roads belong only to cars.
The flashing lights are just a good attempt to get Miami drivers to obey the law and protect pedestrians.
Its the same problem we have with intersections with flashing yellow lights.....and people stop....flashing yellow means slow down and be prepared to stop. Not slam on your brakes and yield to opposing traffic....
That's just poor drivers making a situation more dangerous.
These are horrible, dangerous lights. I live right across the street and cross there all the time, most drivers completely ignore them and speed on through and you end up waiting forever to cross, or as in your story, one car will be nice and stop and none of the others will. They need to put in normal lights.
I too had a horrible experience at those flashing lights. I pushed the button and the lights started flashing so I stepped onto the crosswalk, assuming I could cross the street. All of a sudden, a white car comes flying down the street doing, like, 80mph!! Passenger rolls down the window, sees me standing in the crosswalk, pulls out an uzi and opens fire! I dove towards the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding the machine gun fire that was passing me at 80mph+. I then leapt to my feet and had sprinted halfway across the street when I noticed the driver had turned around and was 100 feet away and coming straight at me! Channeling my inner D-Wade, I jumped up and hurdled the car which then hit a pothole, lost control, and exploded as it made impact with a group of cyclists that was riding 8-wide on the street.
If this isnt proof that they need to have crossing guards 24/7, possibly armed, I dont know what is.
Drivers donot stop for the traffic light on Mcfarlane Road in front of Sonesta Hotel Condo. Why would any Miami driver stop for the flashing yellow lights in front of Fresh Market? The drivers are to busy on their cell phones or putting on makeup to watch for these lights.
The problem is Miami drivers, not flashing lights. I've lived in several countries, and Miami's driving resembles third-world driving more than any place in the U.S. With that kind of standard, only a FULL STOP light will offer any protection. They should put one in immediately.
I haven't seen this thing in real life, but from your story I sure would love to.
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